Veteran Ron gets bird’s eye view for poppy drop

HE had the best seat in the house and no one deserved it more.

Perched in the cockpit of Britain’s last airworthy Lancaster, Ron Clark DFC watched proudly yesterday as a million poppies dropped from its bomb bay towards the Bomber Command memorial.

For the 91-year-old hero, it was a poignant reminder of the missions he and his comrades undertook 69 years ago in one of the most famous Lancasters of the war, The Phantom of the Ruhr.

“It was a very special day,” he said after his round-trip flight from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

“And a great privilege for me.”

Mr Clark was delighted that a permanent memorial now marks the sacrifice of his comrades. “It’s a focus point so we can remember the victims, and also of enormous comfort to relatives, who have done so much to bring this about.”

It was a very special day

Ron Clark

Mr Clark’s crew flew 25 missions in the Phantom between June and September 1943, striking Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne repeatedly.

On the 25th, the plane was hit and almost brought down by anti-aircraft shells but, despite having almost unusable controls, Mr Clark nursed it back to base. He was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.